Archive

My blog on the Sears Houses in Richmond has gotten several hundred views in the last few days. I am tickled pink to see it, but I wish I knew what led folks to a 15-month old blog!

But in the meantime, I’ve made another *fascinating* discovery, which might lead me to a neighborhood of Sears Homes in Richmond!

Today, David Spriggs and I were doing research at the Norfolk Public Library, and I found this article (June 16, 1921) in the Richmond Times Dispatch. At first glance, it looks like another 1920s ad, but look closely.

The "beautiful bungalow" shown in the advertisement is a Sears Elsmore.

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And you can buy “all the material necessary to build this charming bungalow” - from Sears!
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If you look closely at the house in the ad, you'll see it's a Sears "Elsmore." In fact, it's the picture right out of the Sears Modern Homes catalog!

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This is the picture used in the advertisement shown above.

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Here's an Elsmore in Elgin, Illinois. Were any of these "beautiful bungalows" built in Richmond?

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Perhaps someone familiar with Richmond can help me find this neighborhood! Was the builder successful in pitching these Sears kit homes to the people who bought his lots?

This could be fun!! Please leave a comment below if you know where this area is!

Last week, I traveled to Richmond on an errand for a friend. I had a little extra time on my hands so I decided to drive around in “just one” neighborhood and my oh my, I found several Sears Homes in just a few blocks!

I had only a good hour of search time, so hopefully I can return soon and do more looking.

However, Richmond, Virginia is a very large city and it’d be helpful to know where I might find the neighborhoods that were developed in the first years of the 20th Century.

Enjoy the photos below, and if you know of a Sears House in Richmond, send me a note!

Should I start with my favorite? Above is a picture of the Sears Sherburne, from the 1921 Building Materials catalog. It was a spacious, grand house and I've not seen many of these.

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And here it is, looking much like it did when built in the late 1910s or early 1920s. What a house! And it came from a kit!

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And despite this being a fairly rare model of Sears Kit House, I found a second one, within a few blocks of the first house! And it's also a real beauty! Notice the dramatic cornice returns extending well over the front porch area.

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The big surprise of this excursion was this house, the Sears Avalon. This was another unusually fine and somewhat hard-to-find kit house offered by Sears. Prior to Richmond, I'd only seen maybe five Avalons throughout the country. And yet, in Richmond, I found FIVE within one seven-block area. FIVE Avalons! What in the world??

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Here's another view of the Avalon from the 1921 catalog. Notice the three square vents on the gabled porch roof (far left) and the small indent in the chimney. Also notice the small attic window over the porch. See how the porch columns are mostly masonry with a little bit of wooden column? These are all distinctive features.

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And the floor plans could be "reversed," to take advantage of better lighting on the site.

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Wow. Just wow. One of the most perfect Sears Avalons, right here in Richmond. Wow.

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Wow, isn’t that exciting to see such a perfect match to an old Sears catalog page? And whomever owns this house, really loves it. Wow!

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Avalon #2 was on Semmes Avenue, near 30th Street. This house also has those three vents on the gabled end of the porch. In that this house has stucco, the porch columns were a little different, but that's a minor alteration and not significant in identifying this as an Avalon.

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Avalon #3. I'm very happy that Richmond has so many Avalons that they're to be numbered for identification. This was also retains its original railings.

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How cool! Pretty amazing, isn't it!

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Avalon #4. Turns out, most of these Avalons face due West, so I was photographing right into the morning sun. Some of these pictures aren't the best, but one has to do what one has to do! This house was on Riverside Drive. That's my hand at the upper left, trying to behave like a sun shield.

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Avalon #5. Despite its modifications and alterations, I'm fairly confident that this is a Sears Avalon. The roof has been raised, giving it a higher pitch, and creating a small indented space in front of that attic window, but if you look at the details, you can see this looks like a Sears Avalon. Unfortunately due to sidewalk construction, I was not able to get a better photo.

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So that’s FIVE Avalons in this one small section of Richmond. FIVE. Prior to this, I’d only seen five Avalons in all my travels. Now I’ve seen 10.

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But there's still more. This is a Sears Montrose as seen in the 1928 catalog.

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Several unusual features around the front door give this house its distinctive appearance.

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Is this a Sears Montrose on Roanoke Avenue? It's pretty close. Look at the pent roof that continues around that sunporch. And look at the details around the front porch.

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The Sears Maywood was one of their finer homes.

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This appears to be a Sears Maywood, tucked away behind the trees.

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The Sears Westly was a very popular house for Sears.

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And you've got a lovely Westly in Richmond!

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This was an interesting find: An older Sears House (pre-1916). This was model #190.

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And such a nice example!

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The Sears Strathmore has always been one of my favorites!

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And here's another perfect example of it!

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In addition to Sears, there were six other companies selling kit homes on a national level. One of them was Harris Brothers. They were based in Chicago and a much smaller company than Sears, so imagine my surprise at finding a HB house in Richmond! This is Harris Brothers Model J-161 (1920 catalog).

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Nice match, isn't it!

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One of the more popular houses offered by Harris Brothers was this house, Model N-1000.

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Is this the N-1000 (shown above)? It's certainly a possibility. Although not visible in this photo, this house has the rounded front porch, as seen on the floorplan in the catalog image above.

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Another national kit home company was Gordon Van Tine. They were probably almost as big as Sears. Here's a picture of the Gordon Van Tine Home #507.

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And here's a perfect representation of #507. Gosh, what a fine-looking house. Photo is copyright 2010, Taber Andrew Bain and may not be used or reproduced.

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How many more kit homes are hiding in Richmond? Probably a bunch. These houses above represent a brief visit to Richmond.

I’d love to return to Richmond and do a more thorough job of finding these houses, but where to look?

“Marina” comes from the Latin word marinus, which means “of the sea.” It’s hard for me to get a sense of any nautical theme in this Sears house. The kit did not include a free wooden oar or a cute little life vest.

Ah well.

It’s still a darling little house.

Sears Marina, as shown in the 1920 catalog.

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There was also a "Marina" with a shed dormer (1919 catalog).

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Despite its being such a modest little house, it had a beamed ceiling in the dining room, and crown moldings in the spacious living room.

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That large dormer on the front housed the tiny bathroom. Also upstairs were two very "cozy" bedrooms. A narrow dormer on the back provided the headroom for the staircase.

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The photos shown here give a false impression of spaciousness.

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I doubt that many Marina owners had a baby grand in the living room.

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That chandelier is hanging a bit low! Looks more like a high-intensity heat lamp to keep the food warm. Notice the beamed ceiling. Also noticed the radiator in the background. Sears offered the Hercules Steam Heating Outfit as an extra for any kit home, but it was THE most expensive heating system available. Steam Heat is a very comfortable heat, but it's pricey to install (and today, it's pricey to maintain).

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Did the Marina really have subway-tiled wainscoting - as is shown here? I seriously doubt it. That was a feature typically found in upscale homes. Notice the wood floors, too. Most Sears Homes had tongue-and-groove maple floors in the kitchens. Aside from all that, this kitchen was a scant 9' by 11'. Pretty small.

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An old photo of a Sears Marina in an unnamed city (1923 catalog).

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My favorite Marina! This pink Marina is in Alton, Illinois. It still retains its original siding, which is remarkable. The porch on the rear has been enclosed.

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Four little Marinas in a row in Atlantic City, NJ. Three have the gabled dormer and one has the shed dormer. I'd love to get a contemporary photo of these houses! Thanks to Mark Hardin for finding their specific address: Pennrose Avenue!

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This Marina is a fine match to the original catalog image. It's in West Chicago.

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Two Marinas sitting side by side in Wardensville, WV. Wardensville is a tiny town just outside of Moorefield, WV.

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Thanks to Donna Bakke for supplying me this photo of a Marina in Mt. Healthy, Ohio. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

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I've got family members living in Champaign/Urbana and I've gone past this little Marina in Urbana too many times to count, and yet I always forget to snap a photo! (Photo is copyright 2012 Rebecca Hunter and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)